122 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKER 
FES. 23 
Doirustir (fitoiurait. 
v_ s 
CONDUCTED 3 Y EMILY MAPLE. 
PITHS. 
“ Early to bed and early to rise 
Will make a niun healthy 
And weultliy and wjae.” 
A Rural *’ Cricket” will annint him. 
Economy is the very eon I of cookery. 
Never let a cliilil cry himself to sleep. 
Keep a cake of white soap for Ktarch. 
A remedy for poison-ivy—bran poultice. 
Meat Bhould not be waited before cooking. 
A good breakfast is conducive to good health. 
Ouion sauce made with milk is nice, served 
with roast mutton. 
It is said that lime dusted over potatoes will 
prevent their decay. 
A gargle of sulphur and water has been need 
with success in somocaseM of diphtheria. 
Patient rubbing with sweet-oil will remove 
huger marks from polished furniture. 
Jt is really wonderful how many nice disheB 
au economical cook can make out of odds and 
ends with proper seasonings. 
Capers are tho flour buds, which have beeu 
preserved in salt and vinegar, of Oapparis spin- 
OBa, a shrub of the Mediterranean regions. 
It is better to cut bread iq>on the table as 
needed than to accumulate pieces from day to 
day, which too often in the end liud their way to 
tho waste barrel. 
To renovate black dresses : Buy ten cents’ 
worth of soap bark—from tho soap-tree, Sapin- 
dns saponaria—of any druggist; steep a while 
in a quart of water; strain into a basiu and it is 
ready for uso. It is best to take tho dress apart 
brushing every particle of dust from it. With 
a sponge dipped into tho decoction, wipe otT 
each piece thoroughly, folding it up as you pro¬ 
ceed. Then with well heated irons smooth and 
press all upon tbs wrong side until dry. The re¬ 
sult of this simple process is quite wonderful— 
it is applicable to all black goods. 
-- 
SIFTINGS FROM THE KITCHEN FIltE. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
“ How do you manage to have your bread so 
uniformely moist?” asked a neighbor, tbe other 
day, who had taken tea with us when our bread 
was six days old. 
“Potatoes” I answered. Her look of surprise 
was such that I feel justified in giving to tbo 
11 uaAn readers our simple plan for having moist, 
wholesome bread without the need of baking 
every second day. 
The first thing is the yeast which is made with 
hops, a small handful boiled and stirred into 
flour with a little- |salt, and sometimes a little 
ginger and brown sugar. This we make every 
Wednesday—keeping a fixed day, and for this 
extra care we are rewarded by never having sour 
bread. To “ set” the sponge, the flour is sifted 
carefully, and into the center is poured the yeast 
thoroughly mixed with water and salt, and 
about a peck of finely mashed potatoes is need¬ 
ed for a baking a dozen loaves of medium size. 
This mixture itr made thoroughly fine, and the 
ingredients when mixed (about new-milk warm 
in summer, and a litlb warmer in cold w eather), 
poured slowly upon ClNfr flour and made into a 
fine batter. If at night, which is our plan, tho 
first thing in the morning, it is again worked 
and set to rise, before breakfast, so that by din¬ 
ner time our large baking is finished, 'l'he jio- 
tatoes, without a doubt, keep the bread moist, 
are a healthful addition, and where cheap, as 
with us, effect a saving in Hour of some impor¬ 
tance. 
--- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Cream Cake. 
One cup of white sugar ; two eggs well-beaten ; 
one tahlespoonful of butter; one-half cup of 
sweot milk ; one-lmlf teaspoonful of soda and 
one of cream-of-turtur ; one and one-half cup of 
flour; addalilllo salt; boat thoroughly and bake 
quickly in five or six round tins, 
B Cream. 
One and a-half cup of sweet milk ; one heap¬ 
ing tahlespoonful of flour, rubbed smooth in the 
milk ; one beaten egg ; half a cup of white sugar. 
Boil the whole together, stirring all the time 
until quite thick ; when cool, flavor with lemon 
or any extract preferred, and spread between 
each layer. 
Bean Soup. 
Boil the beans and put them first through a 
colander and tbep through a seive ; season with 
butter, pepper, and salt. 
Do all of my sister houso-keepers know that 
the fat from fried pork makes very nice short¬ 
ening for oako ? Wo think it equal to butter. 
Those who send their milk to the factory wifi 
appreciate this item. w. y. p. 
Corn-Starch Puffs. 
Four eggs beaten separately : one cup of 
sugar; one cup of corn-starch; one-half cup of 
butter; ouo teaspoonful of lemon in the butter 
and sugar; two leaspoonfule of baking powder 
mired in tho corn-starch. 
Confectionary Cake. 
Three cups of sugar; odo and a half cup of 
butter; one and a half cup of sweet milk; yelks 
of five eggs arid whites or two beaten separately 
(w'bites of three left out for frosting) ; one tea- 
spoonful of soda and two of croam-of-tartar; 
four and a half cups of flour. Divide into three 
equal parts—each in a separate dish ; add to one- 
third, one cup of raisins chopped fine; one-half 
onp of citron; one cup of currants; ono tea- 
spoonful each of clover, cinnamon and nutmeg ; 
hake in layers and frost. 
Orange Cake. 
Three eggs ; one cap of sugar ; butter size of 
an egg; one cup of flour; one teaspoon fill of 
cream-of-tartar and one-half teaspoonful of soda 
dissolved in a tahlespoonful ot milk; balm iu 
three layers ; put between each layer the whites 
of two beaten eggs with grated inad and juice of 
ono orange and powdered sugar. 
Sponge Cake. 
Two eggs: one-half oup of sugar; two-thirds 
of a cup of flour ; two teaepoonfuls of baking 
powder ; flavor. Cat in two and put custard 
between. Maijdma. 
Geneva, N. Y. 
xuntitif anti Useful. 
CLOCKS.. 
The sun-dial of Ahaz, oh which Isaiah tho 
prophet, by crying to the Lonv-, brought tho 
shadow ten degrees backward, im the first instru¬ 
ment fur ascertaining the lime of day, mentioned 
iu history. In early Christian ages, any device 
for this purpose, whether it was a sun-dinl; clep¬ 
sydra, sand-glass or clock, received the genera! 
name of horologium, derived from two flireek 
words signifying hour-toller. Down to the 14th 
century, the word clock, (Anglo-Saxon, cluoga>; 
Gorman, glocke), wrb applied only to the bell 
upon which tho hour determined by the horo- 
loguo, was rung. 
The invention of clocks, such as have oertainly 
been in use for the last half-dozen centuries, 
has been ascribed, without sufficient proof, to 
various ingenious men from Archimedes, B. C. 
220, to Robert Wallingford, Abbot of St. Al¬ 
bans, in 1320. From numerous allusions to 
roloffia, however, and to their striking sponta¬ 
neously, in the 12th century, it may be inferred 
that genuine clocks existed considerably before 
tho days of the lattor worthy, and indeed there 
is still extant a description of ouo sent, in 1232, 
by the Sultan of Egypt to the Emperor Freder¬ 
ick the II. This, like many of the other early 
clocks, must have been a very ingenious but 
highly complicated contrivance. “It resembled 
a celestial globe in which tho sun, moon, and 
planets moved, being impelled by weights and 
wheels, so that they pointed out the hour, day, 
and night, with certainty.” Complexity, indeed, 
has been in all ages a marked characteristic in 
the early stages of noarly all important inven¬ 
tions. But while iuthe days of old, fond of mys¬ 
tery and delighting in displays of ingenuity on 
its own account, this complication was ofteu re¬ 
garded as a merit; iu our mystery-hating epoch, 
when the object of all inventive ability is eco¬ 
nomical utility, it is always justly considered a 
defect which ingenuity and experience aro con¬ 
stantly striving to lessen. 
The first clock on record, which in accuracy of 
movemeut and simplicity of construction ap¬ 
proached the clocks of the present time, was 
made for Charles the V. of France by Henry 
de Vick in 1370. The representation of this, 
however, still extant, shows that its movements 
were produced by a vibrating balance instead of 
a spring or pendulum, the latter of which was 
not invented until three centuries later. This 
important invention, like most inventions of 
value, is a matter of dispute ; but like mauy 
other useful discoveries, it was prebal ly made 
by various persons independently, and almost 
simultaneously, when Uio state of scienco hail 
become ripe for it. But thero is no recorded 
proof of its use before the discovery of Galileo 
at Florence, in 1582, by observation of a swinging 
chandelier iu the cathedral, that a pendulum vi¬ 
brated in arcs of different lengths iu tho same 
time, if the arcR were small. Huygens, how¬ 
ever, is now admitted by ail to have beeu the 
first to apply the pendulum to clocks, in tho 
early part of the 17th century. This applica¬ 
tion, together with the invention by his contem¬ 
porary, Dr. Hooke, of an esoapemeut by which 
the pendulum was only required to oscillate in 
a small arc, substantially completed the method 
of dock-making in general use at the present day. 
Many of the best clocks, nowadays, however, 
are driven by a spring coiled up in a barrel in 
the same manner as in watches which, indeed, 
may bo justly considered as small clocks, in 
which the weight and pendulum aro replaced by 
the main-spring and balance, the lat.fer of which 
is composed of a balance-wheel and a balance 
or hair-spring. The invention, by HaOTVIlle, 
about 1722, of a lever escapement for regulating 
tho motion of the scape wheel, together with 
subsequent improvements on his device, lias 
rendered time-pieces of this style models of ac¬ 
curacy, compactness and cheapness. 
To thiB country is duo tho credit of originat¬ 
ing, about thirty years ago, tbo manufacture of 
clocks and watches by machinery—an important 
innovation on the old-fashiotied, manual meth¬ 
ods still almost universally in vogue in Europe. 
By this means greater nicity is attained in 
enttiug out the various parts than is p»H»iblo by 
the slovenly hand-labor of transatlantic crafts¬ 
men. Moreover, tho polishing of llie leaves of 
the pinions and tho teeth of the wheels, as well 
as the grinding of the face of the pallet-stones 
to their proper angles, are processes that aro 
performed with mttch greater facility and ue- 
curacy by the Uso of machinery than by band ; 
while the various parts, being made to a gunge, 
can bo readily, cheaply and accurately replaced 
iu case of injury by use or accident. So admir¬ 
able for accuracy, durability and cheapness are 
the time-pieces made in this way, that English 
clock-makers loudly complain that they are 
yearly losing mauy branches of the horological 
trade through their inability to compete not 
only iu foreign, but even in their domestic mar¬ 
kets, with tho cheaper and better productions of 
our manufacturers. A forcible illustration of 
this truth was offered, a couple of weeks ago, 
by a large shipment of American machine-made 
watches, bought, after careful examination and 
competition, by the English Government for tho 
use of engineers and conductors on its railroads 
in British India, 
The beautiful “Cricket” wo are offering as a 
liberal premium to our friends, is au admirable 
specimen of the best typo of manufactures of 
this kind. Compact, portable and elegant, an 
accurate time-keeper and a graceful ornament, 
it combines the best merits of the clock with 
those of tho watch. Inclosed in a sparkling 
case of nickel-plated metal, its works are dust- 
proof, while its construction obviates tbo fre¬ 
quent annoyance from mislaid keys, and renders 
it equally accurate placed in any position. Liko 
its cheery little uameaako, it is equally nt home 
iu tho kilchou, tbo parlor, the dining-room, 
dressing-room, bedroom, and library; in the poor 
man’s cottage or the mansion of the prosperous. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
North Rasp Island, Ohio, Feb. 3, ’78. 
I have seen reports in your valuable paper 
from nearly all parts or the country but this ; 
aud thinking a few words from this locality 
would not be amiss, I pen you a few lines from 
ono of the vine-clad isles of Lalto Erie. 
Dp to January 2'JLli, the weather was warm 
and pleasant, not. enough show to cover the 
ground, while the lowest temperature for the 
month was 13° above zero. At this date, how¬ 
ever, the weather lias taken a decided change— 
wind blowing a gale from the northeast, accom¬ 
panied with snow, which indicates that winter 
has begun in good earnest. Tliis island ia situ¬ 
ated in Lake Erio, and in tho northwestern part 
of Ohio, only a few miles from tbo Canadian 
line. It contains about 800 acres, mostly culti¬ 
vated iu grapes of different varieties—Catawba 
btiug the standard. Iu winter it is somewhat 
isolated and lonely, but wo manage to pass the 
time very pleasantly, reading the Rural and 
other good papers and books ; and in summer 
it iB a delightful place to live in, surrouuded by 
the crystal water of tbo lake, and refreshed by 
its balmy, bracing atmosphere. c. c. 
Randolph, Vt., February, 11, 187 8. 
The winter so far, lias boon unusually pleas¬ 
ant, and mild. There have been a few very cold 
days when the thermometer stood at 20 , and.two 
days on which it ranged for a low hours at 30 . 
Very little snow lias fallen. February 1st was a 
very snowy day, and Sunday, the loth, was an¬ 
other. but the snow-fall waH not moro than six 
or eight inchos at either time. From the 2nd to 
tho 9th it was glorious, bright, pleasant weather, 
like tho 1st of April. Market prices are still very 
low for all kinds of produce. lined help is very 
plentiful. Farmers all hold back from hiring 
till they see what tho prospects for the coming 
season are. Kitchen help still ding to high 
wages, three dollars per week being what they 
intend to receive ; bat wives and daughters will 
do their own work before they will pay such 
prices for outside help ; so it may provo a bless¬ 
ing in the end. Hay aud water are abundant 
this season, so of course, stock is looking well. 
B. 
THE CODLING MOTH (Carpocapsa pomonella. 
s. n. PECK. 
The remedies for the progeny of tho Codling 
Moth, in tho Ritual of 15 th December last, ap¬ 
pear to mo to bo akin to the directions given by 
the Yankee to tho woman who had bought a 
package of Ids Ilea powders, before being in¬ 
formed how to uso them. “ Take him by the 
nape of the nock and tickle bis tail with a 
feather, and when lio opens his mouth to laugh 
put iu a dose.” Tho Frenchman’s romedy is 
more scientific, aud doubtless more effectual— 
“ Tako him by de leg aud put de pondre on do 
head, and if that don’t do, take de hammer.” 
Up to the 15th when the Rural gave ub the two 
recipes, we had no reliable remedy; the insect 
increasing on our hands in spite of all efforts. 
There may have been some local reductions in 
the census of numbers, but tho pest is on the 
general increase, if wo may judge by tho apples 
brought to market from year to year. Millions 
of thu larvat have been caught in tho (raps that 
have been invented, and this certainly must 
have had the effect of lessening the number 
that there would otherwise have been, but the 
present outlook is (hat the apple is destined to 
become a luxury, even if sound specimens do 
not become extinct; for the whole world of 
entomologists, pomologists, horticulturists and 
experimenters has thus far failed to abate the 
nuisance. 
Some three years since tbo question arose, 
whether the worm remained in a single fruit 
during its larvahood, or whether it emigrated 
from apple to apple eoekiug “ pastures new.” 
I have not hud a doubt- that, the latter was true, 
aud those who lake the negative of the question 
have been unable to oouvinoo mo that 1 am 
wrong, or oven to raise a doubt in my mind and 
unless they can refer mo to repeated experi¬ 
ment!) aud give other reasons than a mere 
denial I shall continue obdurate. The larvie 
havo certainly been caught iu the passage from 
one apple to another, being partially iu two at 
the same time. A great many experiments 
havo boon made by taking a worm from ono 
apple and placing it in contact with, aud even in 
proximity to another, which it lias been seeu to 
outer. Bound apples have boon marked aud put 
in a package with infected ones, aud found 
wormy by tlic next day ; and it frequently occurs 
that apples aro found that tbo worm has only 
partially entered. Noarly half of all the apples 
on a young tree (thu Found Sweet) were found 
in this condition. Tho man who didn’t “be¬ 
lieve a word of it ” is by no moans au auomalv. 
The Pope didn’t believe the wor.’d moved ; he 
hadn’t been so taught. Iu tho caso under dis¬ 
cussion the mau who said it was “ erroneous,” 
and who experimented by mixing wormy and 
sound appleB and failod to show any emigration 
expects by this means to upset the evideuco of 
those who succeeded iu observing a contrary 
rosult, thus inventing a now rule of evidence. 
There is much circumstantial evidence—too 
much for insertion here—lo substantiate the 
affirmative of (hid question, besides there is 
more direct testimony to the same effect. If I 
am questioned as to the merits of the case, I ro- 
ply that in all questions of any importance thu 
truth is worth knowiug ; aud in this particular 
case, the question is whether wo shall watch tho 
appearance of infected frnit aud destroy it and 
its oconpaul at once, and thus prevent not only 
the increase of the insect but the destruction of 
a dozen to fifty more sound apples, or whether 
wo shall rely upon obsolete theories aud content 
ourselves with tho idea that it is but one apple 
anyway. Many have claimed to have greatly 
diminished this pest by keeping hogs or sheep 
iu the orchard, to eat tho fallen fruit, and 1 be¬ 
gin to think thero is something in it. Not that 
they destroy many of tho insects, for the tenant 
of an applo is general ly about as sure to leave it 
before it falls, as rats are to desert a sinking 
ship; but there are certain scents or perfumes 
that are distasteful to certain inseots, aud if 
hogs or sheep have any very decided effect iu 
diminishing tho number of these pests, it must 
be in this way. 
---■♦ ♦ ♦- 
A Simple Metuod of Destroying the Phyl¬ 
loxera has just been published, in pamphlet 
form, by Madame A men a de Bombas, of tho 
Cantou of PIohsoc. According to her experience, 
all that is needed to insure this happy result is 
to sot strawberries at tho foot of tho vine-stocks. 
Those plants, in her neighborhood, at any rate, 
are infested by a spider of the genus Trombi- 
diou, whoso busiuoss und pleasure it is to de¬ 
vour both tho phylloxera aud its eggs with such a 
ravenous appetite that the reproduction of the 
pest in its vicinity is scarcely possible. Practi¬ 
cal experts in France, however, receive tho 
announcement of this discovery with Bueh incre¬ 
dulity that the labors of the Phylloxera Commit - 
sion are hardly likely to be discontinued. 
